Some things I learned this semester are that “research” and data include much more than just articles and academic sources, which was basically what they teach you in high school. For papers you get all you information from these things, but for this semester, we spent most of our time collecting our own data and experiences, rather than using things just found in articles.
Many topics that our readings were about, for example just public space in general or atmosphere, I never realized that essays on these topics existed just because I never had to read any of them. I was also happy to see that some of the topics were about things most people don’t know about or that there aren’t articles about, such as Taiwanese mountain villages. Reading this article gave me inspiration and I hope to explore and focus on more untold stories as subjects for further projects. Another thing I want to find out more about is how knowing multiple languages shapes thought processes and how the brain works.
A technical thing I learned was how to read readings quicker but also more effective and better, so I’m better at summarizing and knowing which details are actually important. Also forcing myself to take notes is helpful or else I’ll just forget it afterwards. An effective thing I do is to use a color to note keywords, it is effective when writing the notes because you have to choose what is important and summarize, and it is helpful when looking at it after because you only need to look at key words in color.
Also, before I wanted to become a nurse because I thought it was the best way I could help people. However, after some unfortunate events, I ended up pursing art, graphic design. From reading the readings, especially the article by Peter Hall, I realized just how big of an impact design has on the world in general, and that as designers we have the power to influence peoples thoughts, so it can also be used for good.